A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt

A Matter Of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt

Foodies everywhere note this film. Your eyes and stomach will be feasted. It is a glorious story of success and the challenge to be star in the culinary arts. I’m not even sure I would want to taste the concoctions created by Paul Liebrandt but I certainly loved looking at the aesthetics. Chocolate covered scallops, bacon sorbet and mackerel tartare are not on my list of foods to try.
This film was made over many years. We see the young creative chef rising in his career. He was born in Rhodesia and raised in England. He attended boarding schools and claims there was no love for that horrible food. He was trained by classical French chefs
He strives for a relationship between flavors. A ball of apple sorbet is beautifully plated. He then pours olive oil over the concoction. The verdict was superb but I don’t plan to try it in the near future.
Paul was the youngest chef to get 3 stars for his outstanding gourmet cuisine. He talks about starting from a classical base and then ‘tweaks’ a little change and leaves a little something out. He loves the buzz in the kitchen.
Paul does not yell and scream. He never throws anything at this staff. He is intense and very serious. He also had a sense of humor and often had a smile on his face. We see the difficult challenge in working in a top line restaurant. The staff works over 12 hours daily. There is no time for a social life. Paul does eventually find a lovely woman who works the front of his restaurant. She is a great balance for his intensity.
He was a 2 star chef at Gilt in New York City. A critic wrote that there were too many layers to his food. He later was fired.
He had a job for a short while creating cocktails. That was fun to watch and I was craving a sample.
He finds a backer who totally supports him and that is the beginning of Corton. We see all the action in creating the physical space. The chefs work to create the menu. I was fascinated to see how many people actually worked behind the scenes.
The tension builds as the restaurant prepares to open. There is one goal and that is to achieve three stars from the restaurant critic Frank Bruni. The staff is always alert when checking the reservation listings. Frank Bruni uses pseudonyms. When he does come to the restaurant he tries to catch them doing something wrong. He leaves a towel on the floor of the washroom. He also leaves a paper clip on the sink. I sighed in relief when these errors were caught.
There is so much passion in the creation of exquisite food. The audience feels it while watching the film.
I can actually say I was not hungry when I left the film because many of the dishes were majestic to look at but personally would not be something I would want to eat. I still enjoyed watching a master at work It was fascinating to see the interviews with other award winning chefs and food critics. I marvel at the patience and preciseness of the film maker in taking this journey with Paul Liebrandt.
I am so grateful to the TIFF Bell Lightbox for showing so many creative unusual films. This is definitely a winner.